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Monday, April 2, 2012

French Chair makeover (and again)

I've had this French chair with a wicker back and upholstered seat in the works for a long time, since November last year and I'm finally happy with the outcome.

I bought this little chair at auction and it was in a sorry state. The wicker was all discoloured, the upholstery was filthy and the wood was not looking too good.

I painted the chair with my home-made chalk paint, waxed it and reupholstered in it a drop sheet. I thought it was a little bare and bland so I never bothered to add the trim as I knew I wouldn't leave it as it was.

Then in January I bought a Paris stencil from Maison de Stencils and thought this chair would be a good candidate. The stencil is lovely and cost $40. Maison de Stencils has a fabulous range. go check them out here.

However I didn't like it. I thought it was a bit too tacky/try-hard. Really not my style. So I finally worked out what I needed to do. I've not seen this done before and I am beyond happy with it.

A woven drop sheet!

This was quite time consuming - all afternoon - but I was able to use a drop sheet I had on hand. The colour of the drop sheet perfectly matches the paint I've used on the wood, but the woven pattern gives it some interest. I even made my own binding using the sewn edge of the drop sheet.

To ensure that the woven fabric doesn't pull apart, I've used a little glue from the glue gun along the joins. The glue isn't visible but it will mean the weave will be durable) and will be safe from prying little fingers.

To make the trim I just rolled up some a strip on the edging seam of the drop sheet and then glued it together and then glued it on to the chair. It looks great!

The corners were very tricky to get looking good especially as there was a lot of material to deal with but I think it's turned out okay.

So what do you think?

I'd love to hear about some of your projects that have taken a long time to get right. Come on make me feel better about how long this has sat in the corner of our bedroom half finished!

59 comments:

thanks Karen, well that would be exciting! I've been thinking about doing this for months now but it's taken me a while to get my head around how I would do it and also to get time to do it. but I really love it.

I've been in the upholstery biz for 35 yrs and think this is so cute. Drop cloth is popular for slipcovers and I'm looking forward to doing this on some dining seats. Like that you used edging instead of double welt.

I've been in the upholstery biz for 35 yrs and think this is so cute. Drop cloth is popular for slipcovers and I'm looking forward to doing this on some dining seats. Like that you used edging instead of double welt.

Super cool! I was thinking of doing this with another type of fabric & dropcloth never crossed my mind. How wide did you cut your strips? Did you weave it all first & then cut/shape it to the chair? Thanks

hi. thanks very much! I'll do a post on how I did this in the next couple of days. I weaved (wove?) the fabric first but on the chair and then stapled and then cut. it is much easier to do on the actual chair as I wanted it to fit well around the corners and I was able to manipulate the width of the edge strips so it all looked good. very fiddly...

Oh my gosh this is amazing and absolutely gorgeous. I mean, I have to admit the stenciling was quite nice but this basket weave is elegant and brilliant. Thank you for this wonderful post! I would love it if you would share this at our What’s It Wednesday blog party. Hope to see you there.

I love the look of this chair! The weave of the fabric really makes it stand out. Great job!I would love for you to share this with my Unveil Your Genius Link Party! (New linky every Thursday). Here's this week's linky link:http://taylornorris.blogspot.com/2012/04/unveil-your-genius-link-party-5.html

I love the way the weaving looks! As I sat here staring at it I thought it would look fantastic to do this on a bigger scale on an accent wall! Hmmm.... How can I pull that off! I can see it in my minds eye but not to sure how I can do it! Thanks for inspiring me!

I adore drop cloth have always loved the "woven look" It's amazing what you have done with this chair - you have truly taken it from trash to treasure!I have an unfinished woven pillow that you have just inspired me to finish! Thanks so much!

thanks Mimi and welcome to Lilyfield Life! I am so in love with this chair even a few months later. It's in our bedroom and I see it all the time but appreciate how it looks still! I'd love to see your pillow when you've finished. can you send me a link?cheers Fiona